The world's first copy of Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 7, has been bought by an Australian early on Thursday morning, ninemsn reported.

The first copies hit shelves in Australia on Wednesday at midnight at a Harvey Norman store in Sydney, along with other midnight launch events around the world, including Tokyo's Akihabara and Taiwan's Taipei.

Spiros Giokaris, who works in sports management, was chosen from a draw of names by retailing supremo Gerry Harvey to be first customer to purchase the new operating system in the store.

I can't wait to go home to try it out - I'm excited, Giokaris told ninemsn.

From what I've read and heard, it's going to make your internet experience or your computing experience a lot easier.

Windows 7 will make the most important launch in Microsoft's history as the Seattle-based company aims to turn around Windows' reputation since the launch of Windows Vista.

Users rebelled against Vista for high system requirements and compatibility issues with certain software and hardware that predated the operating system, but the new OS has received better reviews and commentary for its better performance.

This is going to bring a lot of people back - from what I've heard and what I've read, Windows 7 definitely the way to go, the first buyer of Windows 7 said.

However, many computer stores continued to sell Vista's predecessor, Windows XP, as an option with new computers even as Microsoft pushed the merits of the new system, ninemsn said.

Australia has become the traditional launch market for Microsoft as it rolls out the new operating system in a series of events that will follow the sun in a 24-hour marketing frenzy.

Windows 7 will be officially launched around the globe on October 22, 2009.

Software Australia Microsoft